1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for retrieving information in response to caller input from a telephone keypad and for delivering the information to an address specified by destination address information maintained through an Internet website and stored in a database, which is selected based on caller identification provided electronically with the inbound telephone call, and in a distribution means specified by the caller.
2. Description of Prior Art
At the present time, the applicant is unaware of any existing prior art method or system utilizing an Internet website as its registration and administration means and a database as its address routing means that would enable a user to respond to a mass media advertisement or other announcement by simply dialing a phone number and entering a “keycode” (a code which identifies the particular advertisement offer), with the identification of the caller provided by the ANI (automatic number identification) of the calling phone.
To date, direct-response mass-media advertising has relied primarily on a variety of direct response methods, such as manned 800 numbers. These methods do not permit the responder to simply, quickly, and automatically specify how and by what means additional information will be sent to the responder. Where direct response requires payment information, this information must be located by the caller and correctly communicated over the phone, often a laborious and error-filled process.
When responding to an advertisement by accessing information on an interconnected network, such as the Internet, the user is required to have a certain amount of knowledge regarding an Internet website address, or URL—uniform resource locator, before the user can successfully access a particular website. If the user does not input the exact URL, punctuated correctly, access will be denied and the user will need to resort to a sometimes lengthy and laborious search process to determine the correct address for the site. Given the present volume of advertising which includes a brief mention of an advertiser's website address, remembering a particular advertisement for a site may be difficult, thereby decreasing the probability of further investigation of an advertiser's products or services. The demands of precise and accurate URL addressing as a requirement for accessing the Internet creates a barrier for most people to take full advantage of this information source.
Prior art systems overcome this problem through the use of Internet search engines to help users determine the correct URL for a website from a selection of sites that have been selected based on key words. Once the user has input key words, summaries of websites and their associated URL's are presented for selection. By selecting a particular URL, the user is linked to the chosen website.
Internet and online service providers, such as AOL, may also offer keywords for advertisers to include in their ads. These keywords are theoretically easier for a user to remember than the www.websitename.com combination. Keywords, however, must be remembered from the time the individual hears them to the time of Internet access, which in a majority of cases is not immediate. As URL's, keywords are also subject to spelling and punctuation mistakes.